James Gandolfini

by Tony Dayoub

I read it. I liked it. I thought it was good. But I thought they would have to hire some good looking guy—not George Clooney but some Italian George Clooney—and that would be that. But they called me and they said can I meet David for breakfast at 9 a.m. At the time I was younger, and I stayed out late a lot. And I was like, "Oh, for fuck's sake. This guy wants to eat breakfast? This guy's going to be a pain in the ass."

-Actor James Gandolfini on The Sopranos and its creator, David Chase

The passing of James Gandolfini yesterday came as a shock to just about everyone it seems. After hearing it, I went through the 21st century version of the five stages of grief. First, I visited reliable online news sources to confirm that the reports were indeed true. Second, I shared my sadness with Facebook friends. Then I went on Twitter to read the reactions of celebrities and journalists. Next, I scoured the cable guide for any showings of The Sopranos, a show I hadn't seen since its cancellation. And finally, I find myself here writing up whatever kind of minuscule tribute to the actor I can offer.

Movie Review: Voy a Explotar - A Clumsy Fusion of Childhood Daydreams and Violent Rebellion

by Tony Dayoub



Gerardo Naranjo's anti-establishment drama, Voy a Explotar, explores the relationship between two young non-conformists, Román (Juan Pablo de Santiago) and Maru (Maria Deschamps). Román is the son of a corrupt right-wing politician (Daniel Giménez Cacho). His mother died in a car accident that may have been caused by his father's driving after drinking. Maru is a lower-middle class student who drinks herself into blackouts. She is being raised by a single mother (Martha Claudia Moreno) who can't figure out why her daughter has grown to be so disobedient of late.


They meet when the nihilistic Román, new to Maru's school, stages a performance that consists of him standing onstage on a chair with a noose around his neck, and pretending to hang himself. Shocking the parents and schoolmates in the audience, he also manages to awaken the listless Maru from her reverie. She is the only one who claps. Soon, the two misfits forge a relationship, and make a pact to escape from their dull lives in a stolen VW bug, and head toward Mexico City. They only make it as far as Román's rooftop, where they hide in plain sight, setting up a tent, and only venturing inside the house when they need food or a shower, while they send their parents on wild chases to the countryside looking for the "missing" pair.

Naranjo (Drama/Mex) plays with the conventions of the "lovers-on-the-lam" genre, but not successfully. There are clumsy mood shifts between the romantic daydreaming of the young lovers, the political statements regarding the resurgence of the right in Mexico, and the borderline slapstick reactions of Román's father as he pretends to care about his boy's disappearance when he really only cares about how it affects his image in front of voters. The politician even tries to sneak in an airing of a soccer match, while Maru's mother frantically worries about her disappearance. Naranjo does display obvious talent, as his movie demonstrates that he is well-versed in cinema. But a film that tries to fuse echoes of Wes Anderson's lyrical Rushmore with Quentin Tarantino's True Romance is tough to buy into.

The best reason to see the Voy a Explotar is for Naranjo's brilliant casting of the two novice actors, de Santiago and Deschamps. They bring a whimsical quality that is atypical in this movie genre. Sissy Spacek had the quality in her role, as Holly, in a forerunner to this film, Badlands. Like Holly, the two lovers in Explotar don't quite grasp how horribly awry their plan to live outside of the grid can go. At least de Santiago's Román, the more idealistic of the two, doesn't. Deschamps's downturned eyes betray a darker soul. As the movie heads towards its inexorable heartbreaking finale, one gets the feeling that she is fully aware of how this will end up, but would literally rather die than live in the world she inhabits now.

Voy a Explotar/I'm Gonna Explode is playing with a short, This is Her, at the 46th New York Film Festival, at 9:00 p.m. tonight, and 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, at the Ziegfeld Theatre, 141 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019, (212) 307-1862

Photo Credit: Canana / Film Society of Lincoln Center

14 films for February 14th

by Tony Dayoub

In recognition of Valentine's Day, here are some movies that present love in unexpected ways.

¡Átame! (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!) (1990) - Victoria Abril, Antonio Banderas; dir. Pedro Almodóvar - This Spanish language film was controversial at the time of its release for being part of a wave of films that ushered in a new era in cinematic sexual frankness. But at its heart, it is just a sweet story of a criminal who kidnaps a porn actress he adores and how she falls in love with him.